Sen. Joni Ernst (R-Iowa) sent a letter to Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg on Monday demanding answers about major tech platforms' censorship of military recruiting content.
“Our freedom is only possible because of the long tradition of Americans, like myself, voluntarily serving and defending our country,” Ernst said in a written statement. . “I'm concerned that Meta's algorithms are hindering our investments in connecting with and recruiting the next generation of warfighters. The service and sacrifice of our brave men and women in uniform will be limited. It should be celebrated without exception.”
Ernst I wrote In response to Zuckerberg's meta-deleting and shadowbanning of U.S. military posts, he said major tech platforms “continue to change their policies regarding violations without notice or clear rationale.”
She continued:
Starting in February 2024, a report to Congress indicates increased content restrictions on military-related posts, including posts depicting military equipment that do not violate community guidelines. Meta even made the GoArmy Instagram account inactive and unsearchable. For example, the Office of the Chief of Army Public Affairs (OCPA) has reported disruptions caused by innocuous posts, such as posts featuring the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier and soldiers working on helicopters without visible weapons. Shadow-banning these types of posts sends a disturbing message that making sacrifices to protect the country violates meta community standards.
Iowa State Senator retired He, who served as a lieutenant colonel in the Army National Guard after 23 years of service, said another issue with Meta was inconsistent content moderation practices.
Recent events have further highlighted the inconsistencies and problems with Meta's content moderation practices. On September 16th and September 18th, five posts each day were flagged for violating our guidelines, and GoArmy accounts were placed in deprecated status. Notably, 8 of these 10 flagged posts had already been challenged and removed by Meta. On September 17th, the GoArmy account was placed in deprecated status with no flagged posts. Despite immediately requesting clarification from Meta and opening a support ticket, no clear explanation was provided. This account was reinstated to Recommended status on September 19th, but demoted again to Deprecated status on September 20th based on the same flags that were previously raised and cleared.
Ernst requested more information about Meta's content moderation policies, why military accounts were flagged or removed, and what steps Meta had taken to prevent future censorship.
“We urge you to ensure that Meta Inc.’s activities are fair, transparent and free from such pressures, especially regarding matters of national security, and to immediately re-evaluate its restrictive policies toward U.S. military posts.” I request you,” she concluded in the letter.
Sean Moran is a policy reporter at Breitbart News. Follow him on X @SeanMoran3.
